The ceramic vessel set was discovered accidentally in October 2025 in the southwestern part of the village of Bălceana, Hâncești District, approximately 1.2 km from the Lăpușnița River. The archaeological materials were recovered by the National Archaeological Agency.
The ceramic assemblage consists of a large storage vessel (pithos) with a capacity of 20 litres (h = 39.2 cm; d = 35.0 cm), decorated with a raised band below the rim; a medium-sized bowl with a capacity of 2.5 litres (h = 16.9 cm; d = 23.2 cm); a medium-sized jug with a capacity of 0.6 litres (h = 12.0 cm; d = 13.4 cm); and the base of a jar-shaped vessel.
The coarse handmade pottery was produced using the coil-building technique, by stacking and shaping coils of clay prepared from a paste tempered with crushed fired clay (grog) and sand. The vessel surfaces are uneven and covered with a yellowish-red slip featuring black patches, while the core of the vessel walls is black in colour.
The three vessels preserved intact display well-defined biconical shapes, with their maximum diameter at the middle of the body and straight or slightly oblique rims with rounded edges. Pottery of this type is characteristic of the Early Medieval cultural area of the northern and northwestern Black Sea region, dating from the 5th to the 7th centuries. East of the Dniester River, on the territory of present-day Ukraine, analogous pottery is found in Penkovka-type settlements, while in the Carpathian-Dniester region it is characteristic of settlements belonging to the Costișa-Botoșana-Hansca cultural group.
Within the Prut-Dniester region, coarse biconical pottery is generally represented by fragments and only relatively rarely by complete vessels, such as those discovered at Hansca, Dănceni, Recea, Seliște, Păhărniceni, and other sites. This type of pottery constituted an indispensable component of the local material culture during the 5th-7th centuries. In this context, the discovery at Bălceana of an almost intact set of coarse biconical vessels represents a relatively rare find of considerable scientific importance.
According to certain hypotheses, the tradition of coarse biconical pottery dating to the 5th-7th centuries originated in the North Pontic region. At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that these biconical ceramic vessels were the result of contemporary ethnocultural interactions, developing simultaneously across the vast territory extending from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dnieper River and the Seversky Donets.
Diplomatic efforts on the Bessarabian question during 1914-1916
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IX [XXIV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2015
Abstract
For a century since the beginning of the First World War the attention of Romanian and foreign historians was focused on the issues related to the period of neutrality of Romania, the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest by the second Crown Council (14/27 August 1916), and other issues related to the major events of that war. However, it is particularly important to undertake a re-inventorying of the initial sources and to understand how the negotiations on the issue of Bessarabia were conducted from the perspective of Russian and the Central Powers diplomacies in 1914-1916. The importance of research is increased by the fact that at the time the negotiations were held this issue wasn't a reference point for the Romanian diplomacy.
The problem of Bessarabia of 1914-1916 remains on the periphery of historical research. The paradox lies in the fact that there are no documents (not found), which could reveal the position of the Romanian government at this stage of the "Great War" (1914-1916) on the territorial issue of Bessarabia, annexed by Russia in 1812, as well as any requests or claims made by the Romanian government regarding the Romanians in Bessarabia, especially consid- ering the total lack of schools teaching in Romanian.
Maria Danilov
Kаталог архивного фонда Русского Свято-Пантелеимонова монастыря на Афоне», том седьмой, часть 4. Составитель Ермолай (Чежия), Святая Гора Афон/ Издаельство «Голос Пресс», Москва, 2015 г. 445 стр. ISBN 978-5-7117-0734-9
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IX [XXIV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Maria Danilov
Florin Marinescu, Vlad Mischevca, Cărțile românești din biblioteca mănăstirii athonite Sfântul Pavel, Atena, 2010, 285 p., ISBN: 979-960-85542-3-8
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Maria Danilov
Ion Constantin, Ion Negrei, Gheorghe Negru, Ioan Pelivan, părintele mișcării naționale din Basarabia, Editura: Biblioteca Bucureștilor, București, 2011, 402 p. ISBN 978-606-8337-04-3
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VI [XXI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Maria Danilov
The library of Costache Tufescu: Reconstructions (1st half of 19th century)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VI [XXI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Maria Danilov
Press and Censorship in Bessarabia at the beginning of XXth century
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
The ceramic vessel set was discovered accidentally in October 2025 in the southwestern part of the village of Bălceana, Hâncești District, approximately 1.2 km from the Lăpușnița River. The archaeological materials were recovered by the National Archaeological Agency...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.